I recently read a post on FierceCable titled "NBC's ratings dive may be a harbinger: deluge of content may be overwhelming viewers." From the title alone, I knew it was going to be some bullshit. They're saying that viewership, including Netflix, has gone down. NBC is just complaining because they didn't reach their target viewership for the Olympics.
Reading this article, it seems like NBC is surprised that no one watched the Olympics. I know I didn't watch. I wasn't that interested. I was proud of the people who competed and also won medals, but I was not watching. The Olympics don't hold the same thrill it had when I was younger and competing in sports. That said, I know there were over twenty million of Americans who did watch, and apparently that wasn't enough. I can only imagine what advertisers paid to have their products shown during the Olympics, and if NBC is still broadcasting the Olympics in 4 years, they probably won't be able to sell that ad space for equal or more than this years'. I say if they are still broadcasting it because if networks don't get a certain amount of viewership, they cancel the program. I find that I don't really invest in viewing new series because I've learned that broadcasters will cancel the program if they don't get the viewership or enough of a certain demographic doesn't watch the show. The worst is following a program 22-24 episodes in to find out they have not been renewed for a second season. "Surface", "Invasion", "Chase", "Alcatraz", "Point Pleasant", and "Constantine" are just a few shows I can think of off the top of my head that were great shows and were cancelled. Networks are constantly changing the line-ups or cancelling programs. Then they have the nerve to say in this article that we are being overwhelmed with content. From who? Netflix? Because I know they aren't talking about Broadcast and Cable TV. I'm the only woman in my group of coworkers, and we all pretty much watch the same things. I asked what they watched this weekend. Not one person said the Olympics. Those who watched TV said it was Netflix, specifically "Stranger Things". Everyone else was gaming.
The fall season is about to start. There are some shows that will broadcast new episodes until Thanksgiving. There are some that will show 2-3 episodes and then take a 1 to 3 week break. How can you get invested in a program that way? Of course networks are going to see a drop in viewership. Don't get me wrong. I do like how AMC, USA, and TNT break up the seasons. You may have a season that may consist of 8-10 episodes with a story arc resolution. They've also broken up a season with 8-10 episodes dedicated to a story line that gets wrapped up and then a month or two later they come back with the remaining episodes of the season wrapping up another story line. On the other side of that coin, there are the shows like "The Mentalist" that will stretch out a story line over the course of seasons. I can't stay invested in that. It gets tiring and redundant to watch if there aren't any other story lines going on that contribute to that central story line. That's why I enjoy shows like "Supernatural" and "The Flash" that allow most of the episodes and not just the season finale (ex. "Criminal Minds") to contribute to the central story line for that season.
Don't get me started on the Premium Movie Channels. Starz is included in my cable package, but I have rarely watched it this summer. I honestly can't think of one movie or show I've watched since I got the Starz package in February. I'm sure other members of my household have. I've never used the Starz app. I said I would try it eventually since I still have 6 months left of Starz with my current cable promotion. I did watch "Game of Thrones" thru the HBONow app. I watched each episode as it premiered when the HBONow app worked. After the season ended, I binge watched the season again twice, and then I canceled HBONow, and I probably won't watch HBO again until "Game of Thrones" comes back. Comcast has VOD, which I have used to watch "Motive" and "Modern Family" on USA and "Criminal Minds" and "Saving Hope" on ION television. That's fine. I have people in my home who watch a lot of Reality TV. I don't watch Reality TV. Never have, never will. Networks all jumped on the Reality TV bandwagon, and I jumped to Netflix and Hulu. I've spent all summer watching Netflix and Hulu at home on my Xbox and at work on my tablet catching up on TV epsiodes. I think I'm close to watching everything on my Netflix watchlist, but September is when previous seasons of the CW shows are added to Netflix. I'll be binge watching those TV seasons. Netflix is bringing it with all the Marvel TV shows so I'll be watching those as well. I'd rather stream from Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Prime at my own convenience. I'll pay extra because I can always find something on. Netflix just recently had a price increase, and guess what, I'll pay $9.99 a month for Netflix compared to a $109.99 a month cable promotion with all the movie channels hoping one of those channels has something I can watch. Comcast's VOD rarely contains 3-4 of the previous seasons' episodes so I still would have to wait for all of the episodes to show up on one of these streaming apps or purchase the season on DVD. Of course, there is the yearly Comcast Watch-a-thon, and I do binge watch everything I can then. I have 4 Smart TVs where Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime are available, and I'm not paying anything extra to watch these apps on multiple devices.
I feel like it's the same argument over and over again. People who read this article may take away that streaming is better than Network TV. I'm streaming Network TV from Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime at my convenience. I do watch TV, but again at my own convenience. I may not watch a show from Cable VOD until there are 3-4 episodes I haven't watched so I can binge watch. In the mean time, that show may get canceled. If you haven't gotten it yet, I just want to binge watch when I want. Because I like millions of Americans would rather wait until 3-4 episodes into a season to watch or binge watch the whole season, our shows may get canceled. Sorry, it's just a risk I'm going to have to take.
